Last night @AOC did an IG Live re: the current moment. Whether you agree w/ her or not (or can’t share b/c of your job like me!), the way she talks about this moment + its stakes should be required viewing. If you don’t have 50 minutes to spare, here’s a summary:
The debate sucked. Biden sucked, Trump sucked and is a racist and neo-nazi. But she doesn’t think it changed what normal people already knew. What changed is the middle group between regular voters and people in power. The pundits, the media, etc.
If this was 6 months ago, 8 months ago, a year ago, this would be a different conversation. But a lot of the people in that middle group weren’t willing to have this conversation then.
There is a time for private and off the record comments. But if you’re gonna say as an elected official that you’ve resigned to Trump winning, leave your seat.
There are several reasons she’s come to the conclusion she has. First, the legal challenges in Ohio and other swing states with respect to getting a new name on the ballot are very serious.
Republicans are going to challenge EVERYTHING and there would be a serious possibility of the election being decided by the courts.
Next, people are underestimating what it takes to run a campaign and there isn’t consensus around Harris. A lot of people in the room don’t just wanna remove Biden and slot Harris in, but don’t have a plan.
If it’s a new nominee, money can’t be transferred. No one has come forward with a plan. And @RepAOC doesn’t mean the pundits, she means the lawyers and legislators have not presented a plan about what’s possible. She has not seen a scenario that does not set us up for peril.
The convention is in a month and Michigan has to finalize their ballot two days after convention. If you have a bunch of nominees, you could blow past that deadline.
People who would want to be President don’t want to be shooed in like that 8 weeks before an election. @AOC: You think the election is in November? No it’s in 8 weeks - the convention is in a month and first early ballots go out a month after.
On polling, there is no safe option. She is upset by people who say we’re gonna lose. We’re not losing. “My community does not have the option to lose. My community does not have the luxury of accepting loss in July. We need to make decisions in the conditions we have before us.”
People underestimate Biden’s performance. That’s how he became President. People see where he’s weak electorally but they don’t see where he’s strong electorally. Whether you like it or not, Biden does great with older people electorally, one of the most consistent electorates.
**The mechanisms by which this decision is being made are concerning her. She is not here to tell anyone to change their view, but wants people to understand the considerations. We cannot allow these decisions to be made by groupthink, momentum, and inertia.
@AOC is not here to say that anyone is wrong with a capital W. But she’s very worried about this election being decided by Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court.
If you’re falling out of a coconut tree, bless you, if you’re ridin with Biden, go for it. She is not an open convention person, she thinks that’s crazy.
“I have campaigned for the President not because I’m a campaign co-chair but because he is the nominee and the stakes are too high. We need to fight the courts, we’ve passed an insane amount of legislation. But there’s also a lot I disagree with - complexity is the job.”
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
